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History of Mobil Car Washes
This page looks at the history of Mobil Car Washes in New Zealand. Mobil's car wash history is very interesting, spanning multiple different manufacturers, from Ryko to PDQ and from Washtec to Istobal. What makes Mobil interesting is that the type of wash installed often depends on whether the site is a regular Mobil site or an "On the Run" Mobil site. Ryko UltraClean (1990's) Like everyone else, Mobil installed Ryko UltraClean 5-brush washes in early-mid 1990's. These were installed with two-tone blue brushes in a checkered pattern. Some machines have since had the brushes replaced with red & blue brushes (from Premier XLs). Amazingly, there are actually still a few of these left, but they are not going to be around for long. Bulls1.jpg DSCN5691.JPG DSCN5690.JPG DSCN1563.JPG Porirua2.jpg Porirua1.jpg Porirua3.jpg Ryko Premier XL (1990's) In the mid-late 90's, Mobil started installing the newer Ryko Premier XL 5-Brush machine. These were installed with Red & Blue brushes, in either a checkered or striped pattern. Also, a few of the original Wash'n'Run sites had these at one point, which were fitted with blue and white brushes. Quite a few of these are still running, but they are gradually being replaced. Paremata1.jpg Paremata2.jpg Paraparaumu2.jpg Paraparaumu1.jpg Petone3.png DSCN1534.JPG DSCN1535.JPG Levin2mb.png PremierXL-1.png PremXLwhite-1.png PremXLwhite-2.png Istobal M10 Multiprogrammer (late 90's/Early 2000's) A few Mobil sites have had Istobal M10 Multiprogrammer's, with plain blue brushes. These were some of the earliest Istobal machines in NZ!. The last surviving one, at a station now owned by Gull, was sadly replaced with a brand new car wash in late-2019. All of these were fitted with plain blue brushes, however one unit in Dargaville was discovered on Google Streetview to have had Red & Blue striped brushes. The good condition of those brushes suggests that they were replacements, likely swapped form newer M12 machine. The unit was removed prior to 2012, and the site no longer operates a car Wash. GullFieldingM.png GullFielding.png NewP-1.png Dargaville.png|This unit in Dargaville was the only one known to have these brushes, suggesting they were swapped with an M12 unit. This site no longer has a Car Wash. Ryko Premier Plus (early 2000's) Only one Mobil has been discovered to have had a Ryko Premier Plus. This was located in Auckland, and had Red Brushes. It has sadly been replaced now. PremierPlus2.png PremierPlus1.png Washtec CK30 (early 2000's) Only one Mobil is known to have had a Washtec CK30. It is located in Nelson and has Red & Blue Brushes. The machine is still there, but the site now belongs to NPD. NPD Nelson.png NPD Nelson-2.png Istobal M12 (2000's) Quite a few Mobil's throughout the 2000's received Istobal M12's. These were installed with either Red & Blue brushes (in two variations), or plain-red brushes. Some machines were later renovated, and had new brushes fitted, which were either plain blue or blue & grey. Otaki1.jpg Masterton1.jpg M12-chch-1.png RedM12-1.png RedM12-2.png|BEFORE: Original plain-red brushes. BlueM12-1.png|AFTER: Rennovated and new plain-blue brushes. M12rennovatedpre.png|Mobil Gore: Prior to rennovation with origianl red & blue brushes. M12rennovated.png|Mobil Gore: Post-Refurbishment with new Grey & Blue Brushes. Ryko Excel A small number of Mobil's in the Early 2000's got Ryko Excel 3-brush machines, with either plain red or red & blue striped brushes. Excel-1.png Caterton3.jpg Carterton1.jpg Carterton2.jpg Washtec SoftCare Evo (mid 2000's-2008) Mobil bought loads of these Washtec SoftCare Evo's for their "On the Run" sites, all of which have plain blue brushes. A few have also been installed at Regular Mobil sites. Since most of these are now 12 or more years old, they are now starting to be replaced.....3 of the 4 in Wellington have now been replaced. DSCN4742.JPG Kilbernire3.jpg Kilbernie1.jpg Kilbernie2.jpg HuttHospital1.jpg SilverStream1.jpg KaroriWT.png PDQ Laser4000 (2000's) A few "On the Run" sites, mainly in Auckland, got PDQ Laser4000 touch-free machines in the early 2000's. Most of these have now been replaced. Laser4000.png Laser4000-2.png PDQ Laserwash M5 (2007-2013) Quite a few "On the Run" sites, especially in the Upper North Island, have PDQ Laserwash M5 touch-free machines. LaserwashM5-1.png Radius2.png Radius1.png Ryko Emotion 3 Italia (2012-2015) Mobil installed quite a few of these at their regular sites, with either plain blue brushes or blue & dark-blue brushes. Petone1.jpg DSCN8154.JPG DSCN8151.JPG NewP-2.png PDQ Laserwash 360 (2012-2017) Mobil began installing these at many of its "Wash'n'Run" sites in 2012, succeeding the Laserwash M5. These were installed until 2017, when the 360 was replaced by the new 360plus. Laser360-1.png Laser360-2.png Laser360-3.png Mark VII TurboJet XT L-Arm (2013) This rare an interesting touch-free machine was installed at one "On the Run" site in Hastings in 2013. Not much is known about this Car Wash machine. TurbJetXT-Hav.png Istobal M'Nex 22 (2015-Present) Mobil has been using the M'Nex 22 as it's main Car Wash since 2015. These are usually installed with Dark-blue brushes (with one exception, which has bright-blue brushes). Mobil has mostly put these at their regular sites, with some "On the Run" sites also getting them. DSCN8401.JPG DSCN8398.JPG DSCN8396.JPG DSCN8402.JPG DSCN8039.JPG DSCN8034.JPG DSCN8037.JPG DSCN8038.JPG editiedrearshot.jpg M'Nex22-Nelson.png Washtec SoftCare (2017) For some unknown reason, a brand new site in Auckland that was constructed in 2017 got a Washtec Softcare with plain blue brushes, instead of an Istobal. SoftCare2.png SoftCare1.png PDQ ProTouch Tandem (2017) One site in Auckland got a two-brush PDQ ProTouch Tandem in 2017. It has plain blue brushes. Tandem2.png Tandem1.png PDQ Laserwash 360plus (2017-Present) Mobil is currently installing the new PDQ Laserwash 360plus touch-free machines at many of it's "On the Run" sites. DSCN1302.JPG DSCN4629.JPG DSCN4630.JPG DSCN1327.JPG DSCN1328.JPG DSCN7501.JPG